Van Haji House
The Rumah Van Haji (or the Van Haji House) is the house where Philomena Develsbourne lives in her hometown in Paterosari. It was formerly known as The Western Emerald and De Western Emerald Bejaardentehuis (The Western Emerald Retirement Home). History 1912-1920 The house was constructed in 1912 by architect Ephram van Royen for Curtis Daboval, a wealthy American from Louisiana who moved to Paterosari when he married Victoire Delmonte, a distant relation of The Paterosari League of Women's head at that time, Madelien Delmonte. The house was designed with the Southern plantation in mind, accommodated into a style that would suit the cool tropics of Paterosari. The original name of the house was The Western Emerald. Curtis died in 1918 in a riding accident, in which a horse kicked him in the face. The widowed Victoire married a Dutch man from Batavia and sold the house in 1919, when it was bought by Jacob Koopman, one of the sons of the affluent Koopman family from Central Paterosari and began operating as De Western Emerald Bejaardentehuis (or The Western Emerald Retirement Home) for the elderly European socialites of Paterosari in 1920. 1927-1945 By 1937, the residents of the retirement home had died and the house fell into neglect during these years, and was sold to Petronella Mangkoedimedjo, whose family owned a tea plantation in Cirobi, as a holiday home that is rented out to the Europeans when vacant after its renovation in 1940. The ownership was then passed unto her son, Darma Mangkoedimedjo, and was ultimately given to Darma's son Prabowo Mangkoedimedjo. After Bowo graduated from Technische Hoogeschool te Bandoeng with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1941, he moved to Batavia to begin his career in architecture. He married a girl of Dutch-American descent from Bandung named Laila Mulyati in May, 1945, and moved to Paterosari. Her father, Adam Sutansyah, who was a highly-respected architect at that time, helped them in the renovation of the house, which they named Roemah Van Haji (because Adam Sutansyah was a Dutch man and a convert to Islam). 1957-present In 1957, Bowo accepted a position in a local real estate company where his father-in-law worked and developed the town, helping it preserve its historical buildings and adding necessary facilities. The house still stands today as a symbol of his hard work and contribution to the small town of Paterosari, and houses his widow, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Helpers Under the Mangkoedimedjo family ownership, the house had a fleet of helpers: * Mala (1946-1959) * Nek Imah (1960-1989) * Otong (1961-1988) * Iting (1961-1994) * Minah Mintarsih (1990-present) * Camara Hendrawati (2012-present) * Gino Abdullah (2000-present) Locations First Floor * The front, side, and back terraces. * The entry. * The living room. * Miranda Sucipto's bedroom. * Matilda Willem's former bedroom. * Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo's bedroom. * Wanto Sucipto and Lusinda Sucipto's bedroom. * The downstairs bathroom and toilet. * The study. * The dining room. * The kitchen. Second Floor * The second floor landing. * Philomena Develsbourne's parlor. * Philomena's bedroom. * The rumpus room. * The storage room. * The upstairs bathroom. * The upstairs terrace. Miscellaneous * The assistants' quarters, which includes: :* Kitchen and living area. :* Minah Mintarsih's bedroom. :* Housekeeper's bedroom. :* Gino Abdullah's bedroom. :* Bathroom :* Garage * The geese coop. * Eleanor's garden. * Front yard for geese. * Side yard for fruits and the planted corridor. * Backyard for plants and herbs and the clotheslines with a pond. Rooms History The original floor plan had four bedrooms with two bathrooms downstairs and two bedrooms with one bathroom upstairs, totaling to six bedrooms and three bathrooms, with terraces, a living room, dining room, library, storage room, music room, and sitting room. Indeed, during Curtis Daboval's ownership, the house was designed to accommodate future children (which he planned to have a lot of). When he died in 1918, he had only two children with Victoire, who moved with her to Batavia upon her second marriage. This proved to be useful for when the house was used as a retirement home. Upon renovation in 1945, the house had three bedrooms and one bathroom downstairs, and one bedroom with one bathroom upstairs. Residents Daboval Ownership * Curtis Daboval (1912-1918) * Victoire Daboval (1912-1919) * Vivian Daboval (1912-1919) * Victor Daboval (1912-1919) * Servants (1912-1919) Vervloet Ownership * Various elderly socialites (1920-1926) * Various staff (1920-1937) Mangkoedimedjo Ownership * Prabowo Mangkoedimedjo (1945-1999) * Eleanor Mangkoedimedjo (1945) * Philomena Develsbourne (1946-1972;2012) * Matilda Willem (1946-2011) * Kulung Daradjatun (1955-1978) * Hugo Willem (1965-1997) * Anneke Bellringer (1965-1983) * Lusinda Sucipto (1967) * Jan Willem (1976-1994) * Dominique Willem (1978-1998) * Wanto Sucipto (1989) * Tristan Sucipto (1990-1998) * Miranda Sucipto (1996) * Minah Mintarsih (1989) * Gino Abdullah (1999) Category:Places